


Banding Together

by FH14



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boy Band, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 14:00:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2431436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FH14/pseuds/FH14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eduard is the manager for the popular band the 'Nordic Five', and must find a way to curb all the internal drama that threatens to tear the group apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Banding Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Icelilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icelilly/gifts).



> This fic is a _very late_ birthday gift for Icelilly, and I've been planning on writing this since at least early 2013. Sorry you had to beta this one Lilly!
> 
> Not all the characters have assigned names so I used ones that have been suggested by Himaruya as possibilities. Iceland is Erik, Norway is Lukas, and Denmark is Mikkel.

Eduard didn’t get paid enough to deal with this shit.

Well, he didn’t get paid enough to do most aspects of his job, but settling disputes amongst the talent he managed was definitely the portion he found most egregious. The creative blocks he could handle. The overzealous fans he could handle. Hell, he could even handle a certain Belarusian singer-songwriter breaking into their recording studio every other month. But trying to quell the petty arguments that constantly erupted between these five idiots was mind-numbing.

Well, ‘idiots’ may be too strong of a word. But then again, Eduard did spend last weekend cleaning what he hoped was silly putty off the walls.

So it was safe to say that Eduard almost had a stroke when Erik showed up in his office unannounced.

“Erik, is everything okay?” Eduard asked, bracing himself from behind his desk. _Please just be a stalker. Please just be a stalker._

“I quit.”

Eduard blinked, “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that.”

“I quit,” Erik repeated, his gaze unwavering.

 _Damn it!_ Eduard screamed internally. He was tempted to rip off chunks of his desk and fling them at Erik in dramatic fashion, but, like all other times he got those urges, he took a deep breath and sat down. He eyed the boy, half hoping this was a joke, before asking, “Why?”

“I can’t take it anymore,” Erik explained calmly, without the normal traces of sarcasm or disdain that often laced his speaking voice. “The band is suffocating, I feel pigeonholed, and the work environment has gotten… weird.”

“…weird?”

Erik shifted uncomfortably. “It would probably be better if you talked to the others directly. But there’s been some… drama that you don’t know about. And that popularity poll that the Daily Mail did last week didn’t exactly help.”

“It’s the fucking Daily Mail. Like it even matters,” Eduard rolled his eyes. “Is that all this is? Are the other members giving you a hard time because you keep winning fan polls? Let me remind you that a large part of this band’s success is thanks to your appeal.”

“I don’t even get that,” Erik said. “I mean, Lukas and Mikkel write all the music, Tino writes all the lyrics, and Berwald creates the aesthetic. What exactly do I contribute besides singing the lyrics with the rest of the band?”

“How do I put this…” Eduard paused, “You are the sex appeal.”

“Excuse me?”

“For some reason teenage girls find you charming and attractive so you help build an audience. And because you’re so sour all the time you seem more genuine, I guess.”

“That’s dumb,” Erik shifted in his seat unhappily. “I’m definitely quitting.”

“Actually you can’t,” Eduard explained. “You signed a contract that stipulated that no one can leave the band without informing the other members of your decision.”

“They’ll find out in the Daily Mail.”

“It has to be from you, directly.”

Erik stared at Eduard. “I’ll call the band’s lawyer.”

“You mean the one who wrote that contract in the first place?” Eduard smirked. “You’ll either have to hire your own attorney or go the easy route and actually talk to your bandmates.”

Erik looked like he wanted to argue some more, but sighed and waved his hand. “Fine. I’ll tell them tomorrow. We have that thing…”

“You mean band practice?”

“Yeah,” Erik sighed. “You should probably be there. I’m not sure how they’re going to react.”

“Oh, I have an inkling…” Eduard winced.

* * *

 

“Thanks for offering to pay for this.”

“It’s no problem. I still owe you from when we were kids,” Tino said, as the waiter handed them their menus.

Eduard shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It had been just under a day since Erik had told him he wanted to quit the band, and the band’s practice session was in only a few hours.

“Ah, they have _Karjalapirukas_ here! I love being back up north,” Tino said excitedly.

“That sounds pretty good actually. I haven’t had one in months.” Eduard said, though he flipped through the menu a bit more. He found that he always appreciated this type of food more after traveling abroad with the band. You could get a lot of things in places like New York and Paris but you couldn’t really find food from home.

The lack of familiar comfort food was one of the reasons Eduard hated drama during tours.

“So what’s up?” Eduard asked, “You haven’t taken me out to lunch for ages. What’s the occasion?”

Tino smiled, though Eduard could sense discomfort radiating off of him, “This is gonna sound bad but… I wanted to put you in a good mood before today’s band practice. I heard you were gonna be there.”

“What happened?” Eduard asked, point blank.

“It’s not that big of a deal…” Tino laughed nervously, “It’s just probably going to be a game changer is all.”

 _Just what I need. Another game changer._ Eduard sipped his water and looked out at the scenic view the restaurant’s location afforded. Thoughts about Erik’s decision and the upcoming meeting plagued his mind, and he felt himself growing wary of the constant challenges that kept getting thrown his way.

“Are you okay?”

Eduard snapped to attention, “Of course! It’s just been one of those weeks.”

“Ah. I see…” Tino said. “I know you don’t get paid enough to deal with all our issues. But I want to let you know that we all do appreciate it. I appreciate it.”

Eduard smiled, “Thanks Tino. If only the rest of the band were as easygoing as you are.”

Tino smiled back. “I feel like Berwald is a lot more easygoing than I am.”

“Not when it comes to design. I thought he was going to kill one of our graphic artists when the album cover mockup used a blue filter.”

“It’s a defense mechanism mostly,” Tino conceded, “Out of all of us he’s probably the least adept to all the fame. But when you’re alone with him he becomes pretty talkative and funny-“

“Funny?” Eduard asked, trying to picture Berwald telling a knock-knock joke. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes people can surprise you,” Tino shrugged, as the waiter approached them to take their orders.

Ten minutes later, Eduard was eating the best cup of soup he’d had in months.

“Nothing beats _leivasupp_ ,” he sighed contently, his worries melting away at the taste.

“I never thought sweet rye bread soup would taste this good,” Tino agreed. “Though since we’re having pastries I’m almost worried there will be too much starch…”

“Let the nutritionist worry about that,” Eduard said. “And if he wants to yell at anyone he can yell at me. We’re not here for much longer and I want to take advantage of it.”

Tino laughed, but before he could reply a couple of teenage girls were standing near the table, looking like they were holding back screams of joy.

“I’m really sorry, but, um, are you Tino Väinämöinen?” One of them asked breathlessly. “I- I really love your work.”

“Thank you,” Tino replied, flashing a smile. “It’s always nice to meet such charming fans.”

Both girls looked like they were going to pass out.

Eduard finished his soup as he watched Tino charm the two fans and give them autographs. For once it would be great if this sort of thing didn’t happen, but at the same time Eduard was proud that he managed to get the Nordic Five to the level of fame where people would approach them on the street any given day. It also didn’t hurt that women also adored Tino in a seemingly endless number of ways.

After the girls left, Tino hurried to finish his soup before their entrées arrived. Eduard smirked in amusement.

“Slow down. You’ll choke and I’ll have to do paperwork.”

“I’m an expert at eating soup I’ll have you know,” Tino retorted through slurps.

Of course, the reason they could bicker like children is because they’d known each other that long. In fact, it was Tino who insisted that Eduard be the band’s manager when they started out, and made sure the band continued to use him even after their big break. For that, Eduard would be eternally grateful.

Which is why Tino’s skittishness and secrecy made him so nervous.

“This looks fantastic,” Tino gasped, as the waiter placed their _Karjalapirukas_ in front of them. He quickly cut through the warm crust and began eating enthusiastically.

“Tino?”

“Yeah Ed?” Tino replied, his mouth full.

“You know you can tell me anything, right? I won’t get angry or upset.”

Tino froze for a second, eyes downcast, before looking up at Eduard. “I know. Thanks.” He was silent for a moment before adding, “Start eating your _piirakka_ or I will.”

* * *

 

“Band practice is in an hour. Run it by me then.”

“I can’t. I need to talk to ya about it before the meeting starts!” Mikkel insisted, tugging at his sleeve.

Eduard spun around, putting the stack of papers on his desk and crossing his arms, “What?”

“It’s about Natalya.”

Eduard involuntarily flinched, “I already told you, we can’t charge her with anything. Her manager is too good.”

“No, it’s not that,” Mikkel waved dismissively. “It’s just… I think Lukas might be leaving the band to form a musical duo with her.”

Eduard felt his blood pressure rise. “He’s _what_?”

“I don’t know it for sure, but I’ve overheard some stuff… and he’s been acting strange.”

Eduard sat down at his desk and began rubbing his temples. “Okay, before I go into heart failure tell me exactly what makes you think he is leaving the band.”

“Okay,” Mikkel said, still pacing. “It started last week. Lukas cancelled on me for drinks, but I decided to go anyway, and I saw him there with Natalya.”

“Is that it?” Eduard asked, “Don’t take offense, but I can see why Lukas might want a break from you. You’re always together writing music or some other project.”

“Yeah but with her?” Mikkel asked, “She’s our rival! She stole that song that was earmarked for us last month, and her last album launch happened on the same day as us. Not to mention the repeated break-ins…”

Eduard sighed, “Fair enough. What else?”

“A few days later, I saw them together in the park, and it looked like they were writing something together.”

“Crap.” Eduard said, “We don’t have any kind of deal in place with her management for that sort of thing.”

“Deal?! He could be leaving the band.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Mikkel,” Eduard snapped, “I know you’re concerned, but it’s possible they’re just collaborating without permission. I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Thanks,” Mikkel sighed, collapsing into one of the office chairs. “It’s just… working with Lukas is one of the most creatively stimulating experiences I’ve ever had. And he’s my friend, and I don’t want him to go.”

“Like I said, don’t worry. I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Yeah, but you know how stubborn he can be.”

Eduard winced, knowing full well that Mikkel was right. When the band was being formed and contracts were being signed, Lukas was by far the most difficult to deal with. Aside from Tino who trusted him to a fault, the rest of the members needed to be convinced that signing with this label was the right career move. Mikkel was probably the easiest to convince, and Berwald and Erik came around quickly as well, but Lukas was a tough sell.

It was a ballsy move, considering at the time they were more-or-less unknowns. But Lukas was dead set on making sure they had everything they felt they were entitled to. And for the most part he was successful. Nothing he demanded was too outrageous, though his reluctance to use outside musicians and songwriters was a point of contention. If it hadn’t been for Erik intervening, it’s possible that Lukas would have walked away. And with Erik having doubts, Eduard knew he couldn’t ask him to step in again.

Overall, Mikkel had reason to be concerned. Lukas was easily the most talented member of the band, and everyone knew it. Especially Mikkel.

“It’s funny, ya know?” Mikkel said, “If it wasn’t for Lukas, I never would have gotten involved with this band, and the idea that he would leave is just…”

“No one’s leaving,” Eduard said, “If for no other reason than he signed a contract. Besides, after all is said and done, I think he does enjoy being part of this band. If he didn’t he wouldn’t have put so much effort into the last two albums.”

“That’s true,” Mikkel admitted. “He’s just so hard to read sometimes.”

“Well, no use worrying about it now. We’ll talk to him directly at the meeting. I have some paperwork I need to take care of first though.”

“Okay.” Mikkel shrugged, looking miserable as he got up out of the chair and headed for the door.

Eduard sighed. This wasn’t going to be a good day.

* * *

 

Mikkel was already there when Eduard arrived for the band’s practice session. They only had to wait a few minutes for Tino and Berwald to show up. By the time Erik showed up, fifteen minutes late, Eduard was already aggravated.

“Sorry. I got held up.” Erik muttered, avoiding eye contact with everyone else.

“Yeah, yeah,” Eduard waved him off, checking his watch. “Where the hell is Lukas?”

“Sorry I’m late!” Lukas gasped, rushing in with more energy than Eduard had ever seen him have. “I was working on a song and lost track of time.”

“Yeah I bet ya did,” Mikkel muttered under his breath, looking stricken.

“Sorry?” Lukas asked with a confused expression on his face.

“Anyway-“ Eduard interrupted. “It’s come to my attention that there are a number of issues happening within the group. Seeing as how we’ll be heading off on our Mediterranean tour in less than two weeks, it is imperative that we get everything out in the open right now. Who wants to go first?”

The band stared at Eduard with blank, shocked expressions, before Tino coughed.

“Um, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell everyone for a while, but I’ve been nervous to bring it up.”

 _Fuck. Is it something worse than what the others brought to the table?_ Eduard felt himself instinctively tense up.

“You see, um, for the past few months, I’ve been seeing Berwald… We’re dating.”

Berwald grabbed Tino’s hand and gave him a reassuring smile- at least, Eduard thought it looked like a smile- and Tino exhaled.

“Pay up,” Lukas said, holding out his hand. Erik and Mikkel each pouted and handed over a handful of coins.

“Wait, what’s going on here?” Tino asked, going from tense and confused.

“Oh, I figured out you guys were dating months ago,” Lukas explained. “We had a wager going about it.”

Tino turned to stare at Erik and Mikkel, “So you guys thought-”

“Erik thought you guys hadn’t started dating yet,” Mikkel shrugged, “I just thought you could do better than him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Berwald asked, separating his hand from Tino’s and balling it up into a fist.

“What? It’s true,” Mikkel grinned.

“Enough!” Eduard shouted, “We don’t need you two starting up again.”

Berwald and Mikkel broke eye contact and turned to Eduard, “He started it.”

“I swear,” Eduard sighed, “At least this is one bit of news I don’t have to stress over.”

“Wait, really?” Tino asked, still looking a bit wary.

“Are you kidding? I can sell this easy. The fans will love it. Just look at all that weird fanfiction they write. It’s not like you want to leave the band like this one,” Eduard said, nodding at Erik.

The rest of the band turned and stared at Erik in surprise.

“You want to leave?” Tino asked.

“Um, yeah, about that…”

“Erik, ya made a commitment,” Lukas said. “At the very least ya need to tell us what’s making ya want to leave instead of blindsiding us like this.”

“He blindsided you,” Erik muttered, glaring at Eduard.

“You’re one to talk. You’re planning on leaving too,” Mikkel snapped.

Lukas stared at Mikkel in shock, “I’m what?”

“I guess we’re addressing this now,” Eduard sighed, “Mikkel thinks you’re leaving the band to form a musical duo with Natalya Arlovskaya.”

“What would give him that idea?”

“Because you’re blowing me off to have secret meetings with her. At the bar, at the park,” Mikkel said, pointing his finger accusingly.

“Yeah,” Lukas said, looking extremely annoyed, “It’s because we’re dating.”

Eduard stared at Lukas in shock, “You’re _what_?”

“Dating,” Lukas repeated. “Our paths had crossed so many times over the past couple of years, and we decided to get to know each other better. One thing led to another, and now we’re dating.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Eduard demanded, “It would have been better if you were planning some secret exit.”

“Wait, you’re fine with them dating,” Lukas said, pointing to Tino and Berwald, “but not me?”

“Yes!” Eduard said, “They’re both in house. Natalya is, for all intents and purposes, a rival property. You can’t just go hang out with her in secret.”

“See,” Lukas said, pointing at Eduard and staring pointedly at Erik, “This is why I didn’t want to sign. It’s too restrictive.”

“Seriously?” Mikkel’s voice cracked, and he looked like he was on the verge of crying, “I thought you wanted to be part of this band but clearly you don’t.”

“And are you seriously using our relationship as ammo?” Tino argued, “On top of _betting_ on us?”

“Okay stop!” Erik yelled, and the everyone fell silent and turned. “This is why I wanted to leave. If it was just my discomfort in the spotlight I could deal, but all the drama is making me sick.”

“Erik-“ Eduard started.

“Let me finish!” Erik snapped, turning to Tino. “Yeah, we bet a freaking dollar on whether you were happily dating Berwald or happily waiting to date Berwald. It’s such a scandal. Isn’t the point of this that you’re now open and happy?”

“I… yes,” Tino said, blinking. Berwald smiled and put his arm around him.

“And Mikkel,” Erik said, “Just because Lukas is hanging out with someone else doesn’t mean he hates you and doesn’t want to be your friend anymore.”

“That’s not-“

“You look like you’re going to cry. Of course that’s it!” Erik finished, and Mikkel hung his head in embarrassment.

Erik turned to look at Lukas, “And you. I’m your brother not your keeper. You signed on because you love this band and you know it. If you had told us and Eduard about it you would have been able to date Natalya in the open and not cause such a scene.”

“About that-“ Eduard started.

“Oh come on,” Lukas said, “The member of a popular boy band dating a popular soloist? The magazine covers practically design themselves and you know it. It’s worth it no matter how big a pain her management is.”

“Yeah,” Eduard admitted, picturing the press in his head, “That is true...”

“So if you guys are willing to move past your crap,” Erik explained, “I’ll be more than willing to go into that sound booth and practice our new songs. So, are you?”

“Yes,” Everyone muttered.

“Then let’s do this!” Erik said.

“I’ve never seen ya this ‘nthusiastic ‘bout the band before,” Berwald observed.

“Yeah well, I love this band too,” Erik admitted sheepishly.

* * *

 

Erik was right.

A couple of days later, in coordination with Natalya’s representation, her relationship with Lukas was announced to the world. It was sensational, and Eduard had to make new hires to deal with the amount of press they were fielding. The fact that Natalya had broken into their offices before to steal god knows what just made the story more intense in its scope.

Of course, Natalya visiting the offices the following week wasn’t a walk in the park. Turns out a major reason Lukas wasn’t honest was because she didn’t care for Mikkel, and Lukas didn’t have the heart to tell him that someone disliked him. His worries were mostly misplaced though. It only took one six pack of beer to bring back Mikkel’s good spirits, though his musical skills would take a couple of hours to recover in exchange.

The following month, when they were on tour, Eduard arranged for the press to see Tino and Berwald holding hands. The fans went wild, and while there were a handful of hatemongers, the vast majority embraced the concept wholeheartedly, and by the last leg of the tour the two were an even hotter item than Lukas and Natalya.

Not to be outdone, Lukas and Natalya admitted that they had, in fact, been writing a song together in the park when Mikkel saw them together. The collaboration was fast-tracked, and pretty soon Eduard was announcing the release date to the press.

All the while, with the spotlight on his bandmates, Erik was able to find his sea legs and get more used to the idea that girls found him appealing. Well, as used to it as a sour teenage boy can be.

“This year has been even more successful than the last two years combined,” Eduard remarked, taking another bite of the cake in front of him. Currently, everyone was in JFK airport waiting for a delayed flight, and Eduard decided to take advantage of the downtime to indulge.

“Though I’m glad we aren’t so famous in America that we’d get swarmed. I need a break,” Tino mused, leaning against Berwald in exhaustion. Nearby, Mikkel and Erik were indecisively moving around what was essentially a food court trying to figure out what to eat.

“We still got certified Gold this week. That’s nothing to sneeze at,” Eduard countered. “Plus, that could change soon if the rest of the fanbase loves our collaboration with Natalya as much as that New York Audience did.”

“I wish ya had warned us ‘bout her surprise appearance. She’s kinda scary,” Berwald admitted.

Just as he spoke, the trio heard a disturbance further down the airport lounge, where Lukas and Natalya were being swarmed by Paparazzi.

“Wouldn’t want to be them right now,” Erik smirked, sitting down next to Eduard with a rather sad-looking offering from Panda Express. “I’m pretty sure Natalya snapped at a reporter again.”

“Yeah, well, it does get her press for some reason,” Mikkel sighed, staring over at the couple before leaning against a support beam.

“And it wouldn’t be the music industry without its challenges,” Eduard said, raising his glass. “I propose a toast.”

“Ed, that’s Pepsi.”

“I know Tino,” Eduard sighed. “It’s symbolic. We’ve come a long way from last year when every petty thing turned you guys into a walking disaster. Now, thanks to my- our hard work, you guys are a band that our label and our fans can be proud of.”

“Here here!” Mikkel said, raising his water bottle in solidarity, and the rest of them joined as well.

“I think we should help him. Natalya looks like she’s going to take a bystander hostage,” Erik said. Sure enough, Natalya looked like she had had enough of reporters interrupting her explanation of her craft, and Lukas looked progressively more uncomfortable.

“Let’s go! Nordic Five!” Tino shouted, and the group immediately charged over to help.

Watching the spectacle unfold before him, Eduard laughed to himself, eating the last bite of his cake.

He didn’t get paid enough to deal with these dorks.


End file.
